Sean Connery: Never Say Retirement
Image: TMDBSean Connery was 31 when his casting was announced in November 1961, and 32 when Dr. No opened in 1962. Watching him now, that youth can be surprisingly difficult to reconcile with his presence. His Bond seems to have emerged fully formed, already comfortable with casinos, danger and telling other people what to do.
Connery established the role across five films before stepping away after You Only Live Twice. He then returned for Diamonds Are Forever in 1971, his sixth and final appearance in the main EON series.
He was just 41 when that film was released. In other words, the original Bond finished his main-series career younger than Roger Moore was when he started.
But Connery's retirement came with a sequel clause. In 1983, he returned in the independently produced Never Say Never Again, aged 53 at release. That gave him seven theatrical Bond performances and a remarkable 21-year span between his first and last appearances.
It was not an uninterrupted run, but it was a convincing demonstration that handing back the licence to kill did not necessarily mean surrendering it forever. Casting announcement · Bond career history
